An "ouch" for incentive planners

Mon, 2007-02-05 16:17

Check out this editorial in the Boston Globe about sales meetings. Ouch. A sampling:

The sales promotion department works hard to keep attendees conscious during presentations. The meeting room temperature is set at a comfortable 35 degrees to keep people alert and mask the effects of decaying flesh. But, with a planned half day of "recreation" in the offing, they cram 27 1/2 hours of material into two days. The audience inwardly screams "once more with expression" as speakers robotically read scripts until everyone but the person cueing slides is sawing logs. This is interspersed with occasional doses of "executive decongestant" -- senior management members performing awkward skits designed to make them seem less "stuffy."

The sad thing is that there probably is some truth to this perception—not for your sales meetings, of course, but for some.